Police stopped a potential bloodbath outside Brooklyn Criminal Court — thanks to Facebook, officials said Thursday.
NYPD officers grabbed three gang members planning violence outside the courthouse on Joralemon St. in Brooklyn Heights on Wednesday after finding a Facebook Live video that showed they had a gun and planned to shoot members of a rival crew, police sources said.
Officers monitoring social media sites of gang members found the video around 10 a.m. Wednesday. It showed Rashid Celestine, 19, Davon Arthur, 20, and Envoy Bullock, 24, in a car and armed with a silver pistol.
The officers quickly determined the three men were on their way to court, where both Bullock and Celestine were slated for appearances on prior charges, the New York Daily News reports.
Bullock and Celestine were taken into custody as soon as they were spotted outside the building. A loaded 9-mm. pistol was found on one of the two men, officials said.
Police later arrested Arthur, who had apparently dropped out of the plan and gone back to East New York.
All three were charged with criminal possession of a weapon. Their arraignments were pending Thursday.